Prof. Dr. G. Barendrecht – valedictory notice

Prof. Dr. Gerard Barendrecht was born on the 9th of October 1906 in Hilversum. After his final examinations in Kampen in 1923 there came a year of private studies of Greek and Latin. These formative years resulted in a continuing interest in the classical writers which he still reads as a relaxation from more strenuous tasks. On the other hand, the polders in the neighbourhood of Kampen gave the inspiration to the writing of the “Glorie van ons polderland” (“Glory of our polderland”). In 1924 he entered the University of Amsterdam as a student in biology where he took his “doctoraal examen” (master’s degree) in 1929. His doctor’s degree dates from the 20th of January 1932. His thesis “Die Corpora pedunculata bei den Gattungen Bombus und Psithyrus” is an elegant synthesis of his former work in the Dutch Central Institute of Brain Research as an adjunct-assistent to Prof. Dr. C. U. Ariëns Kappers and his work with his promotor, the entomologist Prof. Dr. J. C. H. de Meijere.